Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2018, Environment and Natural Resources

Human intolerance of wildlife is often associated with negative interactions (i.e., conflict) between humans and wildlife. While many studies of these conflicts focus on which species are involved and the extent of damage caused, few studies focus on understanding the psychological factors that shape how people talk about or “frame” such negative interactions. This investigation seeks to understand how situational-specific factors (e.g., the nature, extent, and frequency of previous interactions) and underlying psychological factors, such as wildlife value orientations, impact an individual's framing of reported problems with wildlife. Using data from a survey of residents living in Washington state, we performed a mixed-methods analysis of 1,837 responses to an open-ended question asking participants to describe the problems they have experienced with wildlife near their homes. Environmental context (place of residence) played a role in the types of species and interactions that an individual identifies. Additionally, there is evidence that demographic (e.g., sex, age) and psychological factors impact what interactions may be the most salient to an individual. These results also indicate nuisance interactions, such as yard or structural damage, may be the most commonly experienced across groups. Other studies have found that nuisance interactions have greatest potential for social conflict over appropriate management decisions and acceptability of lethal control. Experience and engagement in attempts to mitigate problems with wildlife may explain some of this variability. Finally, recognizing the needs of both humans and wildlife was positively associated with describing a mitigation strategy, suggesting acceptance of “problems with wildlife” may be dependent on the ability of the individual to identify effective mitigation strategies.

Committee: Alia Dietsch PhD (Advisor); Robyn Wilson PhD (Committee Member); Jeremy Bruskotter PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2019, Environment and Natural Resources

Wildlife value orientations (WVOs) reflect sets of beliefs about preferred modes of treating wildlife and have been found to explain attitudes toward wildlife management interventions. Much research in the academic field of “human dimensions of wildlife" has examined the effects of WVOs on attitudes towards particular management actions, or a handful of particular species. Consequentially, past research has not isolated the effects of species attributes on attitudes. In the current work, I test whether the effects of WVOs on acceptability of lethal removal and risk perceptions about wildlife-related threats differ as a function of the following species attributes: endangered status, taxonomic order (i.e., Herbivora or Carnivora), and whether the species poses a threat. I distributed a self-administered online survey to a panel of 987 individuals using Prolific Academic to measure acceptability of lethal removal and risk perceptions of a species, WVOs (domination and mutualism), and experience with negative human-wildlife interactions in the past year. Moderated linear regression analyses revealed that the effects of the WVOs on acceptability of lethal removal and risk perceptions differed significantly between the experimental treatments. The results indicate that contextual cues about a species can dampen or strengthen the influence of WVOs when people make wildlife-related decisions. When explaining acceptability of lethal removal by a wildlife professional, domination increased acceptability of lethal removal to a greater extent when a species was described as posing a threat or was a carnivore, and to a lesser extent when a species was listed as endangered. When explaining risk perceptions, the relationships between WVOs and taxonomic order and threat treatments were more complex, as 3-way interactions were detected. However, the effects of WVOs on risk perceptions neither increased nor decreased as a function or whether a species was listed as endangered or no (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alia Dietsch PhD (Advisor); Jeremy Bruskotter PhD (Committee Member); Robyn Wilson PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Social Psychology; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Environment and Natural Resources

The killing of nonhuman animals is a routine and widespread practice in many contemporary human societies. In the context of wildlife specifically, this practice can occur under legal circumstances, such as through the authorized application of lethal control or illegally through the killing of wildlife in violation of state, federal, or international law (i.e., poaching). Regardless of legal status, the decision to support or engage in any action that results in the intentional death of a wild animal is influenced by a range of cognitive, social, and cultural factors. Thus, this dissertation draws upon theoretical frameworks established within the fields of sociology and psychology to advance, and refine, the application of social science concepts to better understand factors that influence individual judgments and decisions about the appropriateness of killing wild animals. Specifically, Chapter 2 assesses unexplained support for the lethal (and legal) management (i.e., punishment) of both human and nonhuman (wild) animals accused of violating social expectations or rules, via the application of capital punishment and lethal control respectively. Demonstrating that certain individuals report greater support for punishment irrespective of species or circumstance (i.e., experimental condition), results suggest that heuristic processing in the absence of detailed information upon which one could deliberate leads to significant consequences for the punishment of others. Exploring the ways in which perceptions of the illegal killing of wildlife are shaped by one's social landscape, Chapter 3 engages social norms theory to examine normative beliefs regarding the frequency, acceptability, and accountability one may expect if choosing to engage in wildlife-related noncompliance. Revealing the perceived power of informal sanctioning via one's community, results indicate that while increasingly punitive “tough on crime” anti-poaching policies may be widespread, learning and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alia Dietsch PhD (Committee Chair); Jeremy Bruskotter PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Linda Lobao PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Conservation; Environmental Studies; Psychology; Sociology; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management

Master of Environmental Science, Miami University, 2017, Environmental Sciences

The following report summarizes my internship with Brukner Nature Center (BNC) in Troy, Ohio from January through May, 2016. This internship served as partial fulfillment of the Master of Environmental Science degree from the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability at Miami University. I actively assisted with wildlife conservation practices in the disciplines of preservation, education, and rehabilitation. My responsibilities regarding preservation included trail maintenance, wildlife food and shelter supplementation, invasive species control to improve habitat and wildlife diversity, and participation in research projects. My responsibilities involving education included teaching of natural history to multiple age and social groups as well as caring for and handling resident wildlife ambassadors used for educational purposes. My rehabilitation duties included lawful intake procedures and care of injured and/or orphaned wildlife for eventual release back into the wild. In addition, my project was to assist in the development of BNC's breeding bird banding station through the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship program, which included siting, mapping, assessing, constructing, and preparing the station.

Committee: David Russell PhD (Advisor); Hand Vincent PhD (Committee Member); Cummins Hays PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Conservation; Environmental Science; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2016, Environment and Natural Resources

Intrinsic value has been the focus of philosophers' inquiries in numerous contexts. In the case of wildlife, environmental ethicists have offered a variety of frameworks asserting that species possess value outside of the utility they offer humans, although there is contention within the field as to these claims. However, wildlife's intrinsic value has received minimal attention outside of the normative approach taken by environmental ethics. Thus, little is understood about intrinsic value in the context of conservation from a social psychological perspective. Using a national data sample from the United States, this study addresses four research questions: 1) What is the prevalence of the belief that wildlife possess intrinsic value? 2) Is the belief that wildlife possess intrinsic value separate and distinct from existing measures of wildlife value orientation (i.e., mutualism)? 3) Does the belief that wildlife possess intrinsic value help explain other wildlife-related judgments? 4) What social and demographic factors are associated with the belief that wildlife possess intrinsic value? The study found that a majority of the public (69%) holds the belief that wildlife possess intrinsic value; that intrinsic-value belief is distinct from wildlife value orientation; that intrinsic-value belief is associated with other wildlife-related judgments; and that most social and demographic factors have minimal direct association with intrinsic-value belief. These findings have implications for the field of human dimensions of wildlife as well as wildlife policy. Perhaps most importantly, my findings suggest the majority of the American public deems wildlife worthy moral consideration – meaning, wildlife are entitled to be treated in ways that consider their welfare, rather than simply being utilized for humanity's benefit. Presently, wildlife policy in the United States largely ignores the welfare of wildlife, focusing almost exclusively on provisioni (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jeremy Bruskotter (Advisor); Eric Toman (Committee Member); Robyn Wilson (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Philosophy; Social Psychology; Wildlife Conservation

MDes, University of Cincinnati, 2005, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Design

My thesis deals with both the sociological and environmental aspects of living things. Animals have been around for millions and billions of years and they occupy a spot in the “web of life”. If a species should vanish or decline, the web is disrupted and other species, including humans are jeopardized. Animals have the basic right to coexist with us with as little obstruction as possible. They are our neighbors on this planet and have the same rights as we do to land, air, water, and all things needed to survive. All animals have a purpose in this world so what divine right do humans have to pick and choose who lives and who dies? We are the most intelligent species on Earth and also the most destructive. We should use our abilities to protect the wildlife instead of vanquishing it. Keeping animals in zoos is a way that people have used to recover the deprivation of wildlife. Although well intentioned, animals are kept in captivity and denied their true environment which they are inherently entitled to. However, another way that people have begun saving these precious creatures is through wildlife rehabilitation. They tend to injured wild animals with the goal of reentering them back in to their natural habitat.

Committee: Tony Kawanari (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1971, Plant Cellular and Molecular Biology

Committee: Ronald L. Stuckey (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2006, Theatre Arts

The thesis documents the author's process of developing an educational live wildlife show. Three main aspects of the process are examined in three of the five chapters: writing the show script; the actor's performance process; and the tasks of training and handling live animals in a show. The first chapter introduces the thesis by describing how many wildlife shows and spectacles in twentieth century America have evolved from mere human entertainment to tools used to educate the public about ecological natural history. Finally, Chapter Five summarizes the previous four chapters and makes a case for the important role that educational wildlife shows play in the field of environmental conservation.

Committee: James Slowiak (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Environment and Natural Resources

Sarcoptic mange, caused by the obligatory ectoparasite, Sarcoptes scabiei var canis, poses significant threats to wild canid populations, as it results in high levels of morbidity and mortality. Despite its impact, the disease dynamics and individual risk of infestation for coyotes (Canis latrans) in urban environments remain understudied. As human density within urban spaces continues to rise globally, understanding how disease dynamics within coyote populations is crucial for both wildlife conservation and public health. The Cook County Coyote Project, spanning from 2000 to 2023, has been examining sarcoptic mange infestations among radio-collared coyotes within the Chicago metropolitan area. In this study, we aim to (1) determine prevalence rates, identify causes of mortality, and elucidate general disease dynamics of sarcoptic mange and (2) identify specific covariates that influence an individual's likelihood of infestation within the Chicago coyote population. We found that sarcoptic mange prevalence was enzootic within our study site and was at a lower overall prevalence than studies conducted in rural areas. There was no significant increase in diagnoses between male and female coyotes; however, we were more likely to diagnosis coyotes with sarcoptic mange as adults than subadults or pups. 2% of the diagnosed coyotes fully recovered from gross lesions associated with sarcoptic mange. Coyotes that died from sarcoptic mange exposure were more common during the winter months. Individual likelihood of infestation was assessed using a generalized linear model using demographic and spatial covariates. Our best-fit model based on Akaike information criterion found that with a random effect for coyote ID, yearly home range composition and yearly age class were useful covariates in predicting individual risk of infestation; however, both fixed effects were non-significant. We hypothesize that sarcoptic mange infestations are rather influenced by inter-individua (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Stanley Gehrt (Advisor); Laura Pomeroy (Committee Chair); Risa Pesapane (Committee Chair) Subjects: Parasitology; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management

MA, Kent State University, 2020, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Geography

Wildlife corridors promote biodiversity, abate landscape fragmentation and – in areas of urban development – are often refuges for fauna. Yet, they appear at odds with their main goal of conserving wildlife's natural habitat, especially when applied to a real-world context, because they are typically located in areas prone to anthropogenic disturbances. The literature varies over how concurrent use affects wildlife. One such space where this occurs is urban parks where wildlife movement overlaps spatially with recreationists. Park visitors utilize formal trails and depart from them to create informal trails. Many negative consequences toward wild biota have been attributed to informal trails, which contribute to anthropogenic-induced fragmentation and, indirectly, disturbances within the matrix. The overlap of trails with wildlife corridors begs the questions: are wildlife using the shared corridors within the reservations or should landscape, resource and trail managers be directing their efforts elsewhere to facilitate wildlife movement? Also, to what degree, if any, will wildlife move through corridors shared with humans? To answer these questions, baseline and biodiversity data needed to be established first. Employing round-the-clock, passive, remotely triggered camera pairs in two urban parks in greater Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., scenarios were tested along a continuum of wildlife-anthropogenic interfacing that occurs on trails. Formal and informal trails in Cleveland Metroparks were studied, in addition to an area with restored informal trails. Examining the majority of terrestrial, animal wildlife, likelihood of Verified Use was established for each species, guild, and as a whole. Verified Use was defined as any species being detected on both cameras in the pair within a +/- five minute window. I found that non-consumptive, anthropogenic use of trails did not necessarily hinder terrestrial wildlife's movement as suggested in the literature. In situ, not (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Kaplan (Advisor); Timothy Assal (Committee Member); Emariana Widner (Committee Member); Patrick Lorch (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Geography

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2020, American Culture Studies

Focusing on the lived experiences of media producers, this study provides one of the first global and industry-level analyses of the wildlife film industry and represents the first phenomenological and hermeneutic approach to wildlife filmmaking. The author draws on 13 in-depth interviews with a diverse group of freelance wildlife cinematographers, producers, directors, editors, researchers, writers, and narrators in addition to autobiographies and other accounts from professional wildlife filmmakers. Using systematic qualitative analysis of interview texts, the author examines the production of wildlife film from a critical interdisciplinary perspective and answers the following research questions. How are media representations of Nature shaped and conditioned by media forms and conditions production? How does the production ecology of wildlife filmmaking shape the content of specific wildlife films? What are the dominant interests of the wildlife film industry? How do wildlife filmmakers represent themselves and their work in an era of environmental crisis? Finally, how do wildlife filmmakers form communities of shared practices, languages, and cultural understandings of the world? Kennedy ultimately argues that the concept of the production of Nature dovetails with a production studies approach and provides a useful framework for evaluating the symbolic power of media institutions in shaping environmental discourse and cultural understandings of Nature. There is, in fact, nothing natural about the processes by which audiences learn about or understand the concepts of `Nature' and `environment' and studying cultural understandings of nature necessarily involves studying of consciousness and the objects of direct experience in the phenomenological tradition Although, the author demonstrates that the wildlife film industry is the ideal object of study for assessing the widening gap between mass-market Nature imagery and real social and environmental chang (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lara Lengel Dr. (Advisor); Cynthia Baron Dr. (Committee Member); Clayton Rosati Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Communication; Environmental Studies; Film Studies; Mass Media; Wildlife Conservation

Master of Public Health, The Ohio State University, 2019, Veterinary Preventive Medicine

Various pressures such as rapid uncontrolled urbanization, growing wildlife populations, and climate change have increased the human-wildlife interface. Unfortunately, interactions with wildlife are not always positive in today's society. Zoonotic and non-zoonotic diseases, as well as animal-vehicle collisions (AVCs) may pose significant public health hazards. At the state level, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is responsible for wildlife disease surveillance efforts. Since the early 2000's, data concerning Ohio Wildlife Disease Events (WDE) has been collected by the ODNR – but never comprehensively analyzed. Therefore, the objectives of this culminating project were to describe spatial, temporal, geographic, and biological trends in WDEs, as well as identifying potential risk-factors in Ohio. Additionally, species involved, symptoms observed, and diagnoses identified during the study period were also documented and described. For individual diseases, such as epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), White-nose syndrome (WNS), chronic wasting disease (CWD) and rabies, patterns in spatial and temporal distributions were described along with their clinical presentations. The presence of zoonotic diseases in Ohio wildlife was also of interest, in order to gain insight into the threats such diseases have on public health. Additionally, regarding public health, the author investigated causal links between wildlife diseases and AVCs. To accomplish these objectives, a retrospective epidemiological analysis of Ohio's WDEs from 2004 to 2017 was conducted. In total, 345 individual WDEs were described and analyzed. The main findings from this study were: WDEs are converging onto roads with time, which are especially threatening when involving cervids as they can produce significant damage and injuries when involved in AVCs. Ohio WDEs also appear to be clustered in time and space, following unique distributions over time and geographically. Factors influencing (i.e. (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Armando Hoet (Advisor) Subjects: Animal Diseases; Epidemiology; Geographic Information Science; Wildlife Conservation

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2018, Biological Sciences

The goal of my thesis is to: 1) provide baseline information of where Ohio bats are foraging in Wright State University's (WSU) campus woods in relation to forest age and habitat (Chapter 1), 2) determine potential roost availability for local bats (Chapter 1), and 3) examine changes in state-wide species composition following the introduction of White-nose Syndrome (WNS; Chapter 2). In Chapter 1, I created walking bat acoustic routes and used generalized linear models to determine what forest ages and habitats had the greatest bat activity in the WSU campus woods. I conducted habitat transects throughout all forest ages to estimate and contrast their available bat roost tree densities. My results supported species-specific trends in foraging habitat selection, and could further be explained by bat flight morphology. Selection of edge habitats in primary and secondary forests was consistent among species, while variation was large among interior and riparian habitats. Further, larger bodied species preferred edge habitats for foraging while midsized and small bodied species had intraspecific variation in foraging habitat selection. Primary forests and secondary 65 year forests had the greatest availability of potential foliage roost densities compared to degraded primary and secondary 85 year forests. Additionally, secondary 65 year forest had the greatest availability of potential cavity roost densities compared to all other ages. Taken together, the WSU campus woods has habitats that sustain bat foraging and likely summer roosting. In Chapter 2, I used mobile bat acoustic data from Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODOW) to model trends in species composition over time following WNS. I created linear mixed effects models with summary acoustic detection data. To determine impacts on relative bat abundance, I created 61 formulas with varying fixed effects including species, species wintering behavior, species summer roosting behavior, year, and ODOW wildlife distri (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Volker Bahn Ph.D. (Advisor); Tom Rooney Ph.D. (Committee Member); Megan Rua Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Diseases; Animals; Biology; Ecology; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2018, Sociology (Arts and Sciences)

According to the Wildlife Land Trust (2015) more than one million animals are illegally killed each year. This criminal activity, known as poaching, threatens the survival of targeted species, as well as the biodiversity of the ecosystems to which they belong, the livelihood of local communities, and even national security. Considering the unprecedented rates across the globe, the urgency to find solutions has intensified. Although efforts have been predominately led by wildlife conservationists and biologists, given the anthropocentric nature of poaching, in this paper I call for an interdisciplinary approach incorporating an environmental sociological perspective and analysis. Grounded in social conflict theory and green criminology, I explore various forms of inequality to examine the ecological, economic, and social contexts in which poaching occur. Furthermore, I utilize symbolic interactionism to investigate how the construction of these factors may influence the participation in and perpetuation of this illegal activity. While there are countless species affected by poaching, I specifically analyze the poaching of one of the most emotive megafauna and largest living land animal, the African elephant (Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotic) (Blanc, 2008). Using a mixed methods approach comprised of multiple regression analysis and textual content analysis, I evaluate secondary data from the thirty-seven African countries in which these species inhabit. Findings reveal that agricultural land proportion, gross domestic product, female literacy, democracy, and male unemployment are significant predictors of poaching. The results of this research seek to inform national anti-poaching policy and practice, as well as international collaboration and activism to comprehensively address this complex criminal offense whose consequences transcend species, boundaries, and time.

Committee: Stephen Scanlan (Committee Chair) Subjects: Sociology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2017, Biological Sciences (Arts and Sciences)

A major challenge in conservation biology is balancing human transportation needs with biodiversity. I studied a remnant population of Ohio-endangered Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) in a forested landscape recently fragmented by a four- lane highway that featured crossing structures and exclusion fencing. I evaluated the success of mitigation structures for reptiles while also quantifying the impacts of the road on rattlesnake spatial and thermal ecology using a combination of radio telemetry, mark- recapture, mortality surveys, camera traps, operative temperature modeling, and resource selection functions. Fencing was not successful in excluding reptiles from the right-of- way due to structural and design failings, and reptiles did not use the crossing structures to maintain connectivity across the road. Gravid rattlesnakes used habitats within the road corridor throughout gestation, while conspecifics avoided open canopy areas beyond the forest edge. The road corridor provided warmer temperatures for more hours of the day compared with the forest, but also exceeded voluntary maximum temperatures at the surface. My models indicated that most of the available gestation habitat was predicted to be concentrated within the road corridor. The placement of exclusion fencing should be adjusted to allow access to favorable habitats within the road corridor while also preventing road mortality.

Committee: Willem Roosenburg Ph.D. (Advisor); Shawn Kuchta Ph.D. (Advisor); Viorel Popescu Ph.D. (Committee Member); Joseph Johnson Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Conservation; Ecology

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2017, Biological Sciences

Bat species face multiple threats. One such threat, white-nose syndrome (WNS) has drastically reduced many bat populations. Also, habitat loss and fragmentation often forces bats to concentrate in remnant natural areas, or utilize habitats that are not as suitable. Both of these threats, while threaten bats in a general sense, also affect species differentially. The Oak Openings Region of Northwest Ohio is a biodiversity hotspot with a landscape composed of remnant natural areas within a matrix of agriculture and urban areas. This area, which provides crucial summer foraging habitat, has experienced declines in bat activity, shifts in bat assemblages, and some in diversity, in recent years, especially since WNS introduction. To study bats in this diverse landscape, we sampled bats acoustically from May – August 2016. We sampled mobile transects along roads along with stationary sites within the Oak Openings Preserve within the region. We identified calls to species and ran analyses investigating total bat activity, species-specific activity and presence, and bat diversity compared to. We compared bats to environmental, vegetation, road, and landcover parameters. Our results show that certain parameters influence bats as a whole, while others only affect one or a few species. We found that savanna stationary sites had more species-specific activity and bat diversity than forested sites (Rank Sums, p<0.05). Parameters that affected most bat species most prevalently were temperature and forest cover, both reflecting positive relationships with total bat activity and diversity (Chi-square; Rank Sums, p<0.05). When looking at species specific relationships, we focused on the least active species, as they may be more in need of management than more active species. Parameters that most influenced our least active species were humidity and open/savanna vs. forested sampling areas. Humidity had positive relationships with the likelihood of presence of our rarer species, whil (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Root PhD (Advisor); Kevin McCluney PhD (Committee Member); Verner Bingman PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Sciences; Animals; Biology; Conservation; Ecology; Environmental Management; Natural Resource Management; Organismal Biology; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management; Zoology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Comparative and Veterinary Medicine

Surveillance for wildlife diseases is critical to our understanding of the emergence, transmission, persistence and control of infectious diseases at the interface of humans, domestic animals, and wildlife populations. Neospora caninum is a protozoan parasite capable of infecting a wide range of canid and ungulate species. The importance of the disease relates to economic losses, mainly derived from endemic or epidemic abortions in cattle. In the United States, coyotes and dogs are believed to be the main definitive hosts and white-tailed deer and cows are the main intermediate hosts. Our overall aim was to better understand the wildlife-livestock interface of N. caninum in natural settings. First, we estimated the true prevalence of N. caninum in three ruminant species by using Bayesian inference. We identified and discussed differences between apparent and true prevalence (TP). Differences in TP for some species suggest differences in the epidemiology of N. caninum for these co-located populations. Second, we evaluated the environmental phase of N. caninum shed in wild canid scats. Results suggested that the role of this environmental phase in the transmission to ruminants is likely minor. Finally, we evaluated the role of host species heterogeneity in the epidemiology of N. caninum circulating in a community. We identified differences in the patterns of immunity, age structure, and maternal and/or fetal antibody duration in three intermediate (ruminant) host species. Also, we estimated the species-specific contributions to the persistence of this pathogen in a community. This research was approached from the One Health perspective and provided a better understanding of N. caninum dynamics at the wildlife-livestock interface in an ecosystem.

Committee: Rebecca Garabed (Advisor); Mark Moritz (Committee Member); Barbara Wolfe (Committee Member); William Saville (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Diseases; Applied Mathematics; Biology; Biostatistics; Computer Science; Conservation; Cultural Anthropology; Ecology; Environmental Health; Epidemiology; Geographic Information Science; Health Sciences; Livestock; Parasitology; Veterinary Services; Wildlife Conservation; Zoology

Master of Science, University of Akron, 2014, Biology

As humans continue to influence ecosystems, the preservation of endangered species becomes increasingly important. This leads to the use of captive breeding programs as a tool while fragile habitats are restored or recover. However, the majority of captive breeding studies deal with parameters that account for optimization only while in captivity. Breeding plans look to increase fitness and or fecundity while minimizing deleterious effects associated with inbreeding and small population sizes while in captivity. Few studies focus on the interaction between inbreeding and fitness in captivity with success when released into the wild. Fewer studies still have examined the utilization of genetic variation that is partitioned within and between captive populations in meeting the objectives of breeding plans. Largely missing from current breeding plans is recognition of potential tradeoffs between fitness in the captive environment and adaptability to release environments. We simulated how population structure in and out of captivity influences long-term species success. We specifically tested if a traditional breeding design (maximum avoidance of inbreeding) preformed as well as a model that maintained traditional segregation of alleles in captivity. We found that maintaining inbred wild population structure protected genetic variation better than maximum outcrossing while in captivity. This study calls into question current practices in captive breeding when future release of captive bred populations is anticipated.

Committee: Francisco Moore Dr. (Advisor); Matthew Shawkey Dr. (Committee Member); Randall Mitchell Dr. (Committee Member); Zhong-Hui Duan Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Evolution and Development; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management

Master of Environmental Science, Miami University, 2010, Environmental Sciences

The following pages are a summary of, and reflection on, my internship with the Student Conservation Association. Spanning one year (September, 2008 – September, 2009), the location of the internship was Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge (US Fish and Wildlife Service) in central Texas.Established in 1992, Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge covers approximately 25,000 acres in the scenic Texas Hill Country. It was established in order to attain 3 conservation goals: 1 and 2] preservation and restoration of habitat for two endangered songbirds, the Golden-cheeked Warbler (GCWA; Dendroica chrysoparia) and the Black-capped Vireo (BCVI; Vireo atricapillus), and 3] preservation karst habitat for rare and endangered cave invertebrates. As a wildlife management intern, my responsibilities at the refuge included: territory mapping for the GCWA, gathering presence/absence data for the BCVI and GCWA, banding of the BCVI, vegetation transect work for the BCVI, and assisting the fire crew as a Type 2 wild-land firefighter.

Committee: Dr. David Berg (Advisor); Dr. Adolph Greenberg (Advisor); Dr. David Russell (Advisor); Dr. Sandra Woy-Hazleton (Advisor) Subjects: Animals; Biology; Botany; Earth; Ecology; Environmental Science; Forestry; Statistics; Zoology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Biological Sciences

As human-modified landscape and climate changes proliferate, maintaining biodiversity and understanding the function and quality of available habitat is imperative. Anurans (frogs/toads) can be indicator species of habitat quality and ecosystem productivity, due to their permeable skin, small body size and ectothermy. We explored the relationship between Anurans and habitat quality by assessing the effects of spatial and temporal heterogeneity on the presence of Anurans. Across the Toledo Metropolitan Area (TMA), including the biodiversity hotspot Oak Openings Region (OOR), we surveyed across three years, 67 different wetland sites (N=1800). There was a difference in community assemblage between rural and suburban/urban habitats driven by factors related to human-modification (impervious surface), composition (landcover type) and productivity (e.g., NDVI). Areas with more impervious surface, lower amounts of swamp forest, and lower NDVI had fewer species. The differences in spatial structure but lack of differences in temporal variables among sites suggest spatial factors dominated. We also developed spatial models for predicting species richness across the region to evaluate spatial variables driving community composition and ecosystem productivity. The amount of cropland best predicted species richness, followed by amount of swamp forest. Among individual species, the most important variables differed; cropland (Acris blanchardi, Lithobates catesbeianus, Anaxyrus americanus, Anaxyrus fowleri and Hyla versicolor), floodplain forest (Lithobates clamitans), wet prairie (Lithobates pipiens), and swamp forest (Pseudacris crucifer, Pseudacris triseriata, Lithobates sylvaticus) were leading influences. Finally, we surveyed 304 local residents to assess their views on topics from support of new parks/preserves to fees to utilize parks, before a 25-minute presentation on Anurans, and resurveying them. There was strong support for many conservation-oriented questions, but (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Root Ph.D. (Advisor); Paul Moore Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ashley Ajemigbitse Ph.D. (Other); Jeffrey Miner Ph.D. (Committee Member); Helen Michaels Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Conservation; Ecology; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management